Sweater!Phoenix is the best costume anyone could ask for. Even his face mask has animations too. I liked Sailor!Athena as well. Didn't get to have the SoJ DLC costumes for free tho...
I do hope that Hobo Phoenix ends up being a costume eventually. How there was a Furio Tigre costume before that is beyond me.
I'd love to see costumes affect dialogue a bit, the judge getting scared and hiding under his desk when you're wearing the furio tigre costume would be hilarious
Man I hate how badly Trucy has been shoved aside in favor of Athena. I mean, sure, Trucy was probably the least useful assistant but still. Also Pearl appearing in the special case just makes it all the weirder that 1. Maya isn’t mentioned at all. 2. Trucy and Pearl are together at one point in the special case, but as far as we know, they’ve never met or anything. I think Phoenix mentions that Pearl is like a big sis to Trucy so that’s something I guess. I hope SoJ has a good explanation for why Maya was absent during AJ when Phoenix seemingly needed her the most.
As far as Trucy goes, I'd say she was pretty useful. In replaying Apollo Justice, I was surprised at how often she made correct deductions and guesses. She's definately more helpful than the other assistants in court save for maybe Ema.
I meant in terms of their abilities (ie Maya's spirit channeling, Athena's mood matrix shit). Trucy was far smarter than Apollo was lmao
Ugh this reminds me that this animation doesn't appear in DD (or hasn't so far anyway) AND that Trucy looks really weird in DD.
I like Athena, but don't like how they tried to give her robo necklace a personality only to not use it later in the same game.
Finally got around to buying and playing DD and SoJ, back to back. After replaying the first 4 games. A full week of binge playing Ace Attorney is glorious. Gonna do an LttP eventually for 5&6, cause I have some choice words. How the hell is Dual Destinies considered a weak title in the series? It also feels like the trilogy started with Apollo Justice AA was not thrown to the bin like claimed, just put on pause. Still has a focus on him as well as Athena. If anything SoJ feels like its not going places at all, just giving us a new magician out of nowhere. Could be wrong. Anyway, rambling here. Yeah Dual Destinies rocked, y'all crazy. If you hate Athena, sure, you hate the game. That's mutual, as the story hinges on her wholly. I guess my highlights are: Spoiler -Only 1 filler case, and even then it introduces the Key Players in the story. Fool Bright and Blackquill are insanely good. -Athena and Apollo work great together, Phoenix and her not so much. Love how he calls her tiger, and thankfully she calmed down some in SoJ.I like her character, but she was a tad too bubbly for someone with that kind of backstory. -Widget and the Mood Matrix is great. Bit underutilized, but what is there is great. -After playing some SoJ, my initial feels like its going a bit too far with the crazy is completely gone. The international spy and Space Station Plot was crazy good, love me some espionage. - Cases 3,4, and 5 all had great twists on trial structure, and as it slowly unfolds and you realize the in Media Res opening slowly unfolds the game just clicks. After that point I immediately fell in love and forgave its shortcomings. As for SoJ, this game needs something to happen. Fast. Case 1 was great, don't get me wrong, the cast is better then ever and I love how everything is a tiny bit more intricate thanks to the experience gained from DD, but aside from that there is no overall plot hook to get you going. There's no Mia, no Dahlia, no Hobo Phoenix, or Court Bombing to make you want to trek through the mud. So far a Monk Country that has political issues and the return of Maya, whoop de doo.
A lot of the character models were touched up for SoJ, and Trucy is probably the most obvious example because of how much better she looks. I don't even know what happened to her face in DD.
Yeah character models is the only issue in DD. Phoenix with his hair looking like tail wings, Athena with that ridiculously tight shirt and gravity defying boobs, thankfully its all fixed in SoJ. Forgot to mention the one obvious thing to mention about DD. Final Case spoilers, do not open. Spoiler That whole Case 5 is one big Holy Fuck. The mother of Holy Fucks if you will. The Tragedy of Godot, Mia, and the Hawthornes is THE final case, but if Apollo Justice set things up better for the Dark Ages and we had proper flow to that moment, it would have been king. Its damn close, but not quite there. Still though. Phoenix VS Edgeworth in the Ruins of a Courtroom, forced by a Hostage Situation, and then when things are looking up, Apollo Justice the Punished Lawyer comes out of nowhere and demands the truth behind his friends death. It was an already batshit insane trial, and then it just spiraled upwards.
Destinies has serious honeymoon phase going for it. First time I played it, I loved it. So much energy and flair to the characters, music and overall presentation. And the twist was fantastic. But then the second playthrough and now that I knew what was happening in the cases and the overall story, the problems became way more apparent. The script really meanders and is loaded with cheesy anime lines (ie: "I may not have powers like Athena, but I can hear your heart crying out") and the game softballs its questions at you more than any other game I felt. The contradictions are pretty simple already but then you have the partner or inner monologue not just spoon feed you, but chew it for you. It's out of control. And while the twist behind the final killer was great, the villain was comically incompetent when you look at their actions overall. Can't forget the nothing problem that was "Dark Age of the Law". This is treated as the major conflict to be resolved in the game, yet it has no impact on anything whatsoever. The courts and characters all behave exactly as they would normally if "Dark Age" was never mentioned. It does nothing but pad out the already bloated script when the game would have been better served focusing on the things that the player was interested in like Athena's past, Apollo's angst, and Blackquill. I like Yamazaki's take on Ace Attorney, but I get the impression that he doesn't think a character arc is strong enough to effectively support a story so the main conflict gets ballooned and presented to be something much grander than it actually is. You're seeing that already with SoJ and its "No Nation for Old Lawyers" setting. The main conflict is an absolutely absurd premise of a nation where a simple profession is considered a terrorist group. The team wanted you to care about what happened in the country to cause them to hate lawyers so much and desire to fix it, but the citizens and country are so negative and unlikable, I have yet to see a player give a shit about it. They just want to see Maya and leave. At its core, AA5 has great ideas, characters, and gameplay concepts but falters in the execution. There's good mysteries to be had, but the game holds your hand to an excessive degree and there's decent character stories to explore, but are subsidized in favor of a faux national crisis creating a kind of mush that doesn't really go anywhere meaningful. It's not a bad game, but the good aspects of it lack the strength to endure the passage of time and reflection like some of the other games do.
For the record I'm finding the music in DD below Apollo Justice tbh. Then again, I think Questioning Allegro 2007 is the best cross examination theme in the series. Also I hate EVERYONE, and I do mean everyone, in case 3 of DD so far. Especially that stupid box journalist, her punching the box animation is so grating.
The culprit in Case 3 was so utterly obvious from the very beginning. I like that Athena echoes everyone’s thoughts when she said she was getting sick of hearing the ends justify the means
DD had many strengths. The Dark Age of the Law was not one of them. Despite them bringing it up as much as they possibly could, it always felt very nebulous to me.
It's good that they learned, though. AA6 is like they wanted another go at the "Dark Age of the Law" concept, but actually making it convincing and meaningful this time. Unlike the previous attempt where it was superficial and weak, but they tried to make the player feel as though it was important through frequent repetition of a single key phrase.
It's pretty much been an underlying theme across most of the games, and AA1 was about it a lot in general. There are Edgeworth and the rumors circulating around him, Grossberg, Manfred, etc. 1-4 was almost a culmination of that, or at least what could have been taken as a trigger. AA4, as well, was basically all about this, going all the way to reforming the system. So it was weird when AA5 released and they tried to make "Dark Age of the Law" into a focus when it's not like it was a new thing, or that Blackquill's circumstances were any more impressive concerning what brought the concept about than events in previous titles, or when previous titles had done what AA5 was trying to do but better.
The issue is that the Dark Age of the Law is supposed to start with Blackquill's conviction, but things don't really feel very different than previous games. Ironically, AJ takes place during the Dark Age of the Law via retcon, and despite my many issues with AJ, that game does make the courts seem worse than in the original trilogy. DD accidentally made AJ pull off the themes that it was trying to.
Yeah, reiterating what Flux and Voltty said - the courts in AA have always been shown to be kind of screwed up, and AA4 showed it way better than AA5. The entire point of the final case was to show how reform was needed to ensure proper justice (and even then, you can argue that reform was twisted due to Phoenix pulling the strings using outside knowledge of the case.)
In a way I extremely appreciate that the game puts into perspective the lengths Phoenix Wright is ready to go through just Spoiler: AJ spoilers to banish someone to the shadow realm. I don't know if it's voluntary or we were just supposed to suspend our disbelief to the deep end, but either way works for me. I don't think his actions are that far to the kind of person that Phoenix Wright is, and can be. (in my headcanon)
DD works a lot better moment to moment than it does in the wider sense. The entire dynamic of the Agency is something that I'm a big fan of. I like how they took two radically different versions of Phoenix and made them feel like a single cohesive character. It made Apollo feel like someone beyond just being Phoenix's replacement. While I don't care for how Athena more or less replaces Trucy, I do genuinely like her as a character. All three of them work well together. Trucy unfortunately gets left out, but I'll give them credit for at least realizing that and giving her a great case in SoJ. It's when you get into the broader aspects of DD when it starts to feel pretty messy.
Yeah I miss Trucy :( also is it me or when she appeara in Case 3 Athena just seems annoyed at her presence, I thought they would be friends.
Kinda, yeah. Technically the Dark Age started with Phoenix and his Mistrial. Which tbh felt like a stronger case for mistrust to spread, as he was the same person to expose Manfred and bring about a new age of Defense Lawyers actually winning. Blackquill was the final nail in the coffin is all. So far Dual Destinies is still edging out Spirit of Justice for me, but just barely. While tDAoL was a flimsy plot hook and the setting was not as drastic as the plot demanded, it was still a solid game. The courtroom bombing was relevant, each chapter showed us new things of both old and new characters, and the execution of everything was near flawless. The only real problem with the plot was the sniper and illegal arms deals were left unresolved, but I have a funny feeling those two plot threads along with Kristoph Gavin are all part of the same cabal and will tie in eventually to a plot of why the courts and justice system need to be toppled for illegal gains. So much so that I think that when they do a final game, we will see Phoenix working on cases for the Federal Court and not district, or at least near final.
Allegro 2001 still has to be beat. Since we are doing music: Confess the Truth 2002 is tied with 2016 for me: And Objection is Definitely Apollo 2016, without a doubt: https://youtu.be/OvQcmmuelyU Those effing synth chords are comfy as hell, I can listen to it all day. 2013 was too similar to 2007 for ky liking.
How's the The Great Ace Attorney full game translation going, think it will be done by 2019? or should i just skip the wait and watch it on youtube.
I agree with some of the above posters that Apollo Justice did the Dark Age of the Law thing a lot better than DD. One of the problems I have with DD is the resolution: Spoiler: Dual Destinies Ending Spoilers Yes, it is good that the Phantom was caught, but I don't really see how that would end the Dark Age. Catching a spy isn't going to make people trust the courts that qucikly. Meanwhile, Apollo Justice's resolution made more sense in regards to ending a Dark age in my opinon. Spoiler: Apollo Justice Ending Spoilers The Jurist system gives the average person a say in how the courts work, which would help improve the courts and re-establish trust between the courts and the common man/woman.
Cross Examination themes eh? For me, 2004 is still the greatest. Right behind it is AAI's Presto theme and AA6's Allegro. Honestly though, the series really hasn't had a bad cross examine theme though I don't particularly care for Justice For All's rendition.
As cranky as I am, I still think SoJ's Allegro is a disappointment considering how incredibly good the Moderato side is. I still think to this day JFA has the best confess the truth theme. In fact I also think it has the best cross-examination themes. It was always on point by being a methodical, slow theme that was less emotional and more procedural in spirit. The Allegro is a wild ride that I feel really conveys that you're getting closer to pin the one at the witness stand. It makes me think that AA should try to have 2 cross-examination themes going forward, with both a moderato and allegro side. It would better serve the emotions conveyed in the trial by having a normal theme for earlier C-Es and a more emotional one for latter C-Es. For example : one AA that would both have a JFA style cross examination themes and T&T style. Rewatching some T&T made me realize how much impact the game would have lost if it didn't shamelessly reuse JFA tracks. I'll always be on the "underrated score" side when it comes to this game lol. Trash cornered though.
Confess the Truth 2002 is the only good part of JFA's OST lets be real now. C-E, Pursuit, and I dunno how but Objection too is sooooo bad. They nailed the Confession theme, but its like they gave up after one song. Something happened there with Dual Destinies and SoJ. All the original stuff outta court? Stellar. In court? If its not a remix, it falls flat. The last song to blast me in the face was Apollo's Objection, and some AAI2 songs. Edit: As for changes? Yeah. Keep Moderato for Case 1. Then in Case 2 slowly introduce Allegro. By the middle of Case 3 go full Presto like AAI 1/2. Maybe even add Allegro for the Objection theme too.
Damn, I can't agree with a lot of this! AJ's C-E and Confess music was a bit on the weaker side for me (though the Objeciton and especially Pursuit are great.) Meanwhile I love all of the DD court music including the Court Begins and Lobby music. SoJ was a tad weaker with Court Begins and Lobby but the rest is solid with C-E standing out from the rest. I also quite like JFA's pursuit tbh, although it's such a step down from the original I can see why most hate it. For those of you who have played/watched DGS, can we agree that it has an incredible court suite? Spoiler: DGS I love the Court Begins and Cross Examination but The Great Court Anteroom and Closing Argument in particular are so, so good. It also has stuff likeTrial in Disarray which is a big step up from the standard suspense fare.
Can we at least agree that SoJ has the best cornered theme? After the same remix in the first 4 games which was pretty good but got boring fast and the iffy Dual Destinies one, SoJ was pretty great. I can't tell if its a remix of the Dual Destinies one though, which is my main issue. Like I said, I love SoJs soundtracks. But the Court Suite struggles outside of remixes and some exceptions. Up to Episode 3 only though, so I may be wrong.
I didn't think they could top Lying Coldly, but Wanting to find the Truth....whew boy, what a banger. We need more discussion around the underrated "investigation Core" themes. Granted I don't think we got new versions of this track untill AA4, the original was too strong for them to replace, the ultimate "shit got real" investigation phase theme.
Honestly, apart from AJ's Core, I didn't really love any of them after the original. That was until SoJ and it's two lovely Cores. I can't decide which of the two I like more, they're both great.
hell, Manfred and Edgeworth made their damn careers on false evidence and wrongful convictions and everyone knew it
As long as we're talking about court music, I want to give massive props to SoJ's Court Begins (Japanifornia) theme.
Y'know what are great? Prosecutor themes. Prosecutor themes are great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqG_qyVkn10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIfRGhD-9QY
